The Attic (a name which commemorates our first physical location) is, first and foremost, a site for the research students of the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester: a virtual community which aims to include all students, be they campus-based and full-time, or distance-learning and overseas. But we welcome contributions from students of museum studies - and allied subject areas - from outside the School and from around the world. Here you will find a lot of serious stuff, like exhibition and research seminar reviews, conference alerts and calls for papers, but there's also some 'fluff'; the things that inspire, distract and keep us going. After all, while we may be dead serious academic types, we're human too.

Monday, April 28, 2008

On the 23rd April, the Department of Museum Studies' research seminar programme restarted with a presentation by Anna Woodham, a third year PhD student based jointly in the Departments of Geography and Museum Studies. Anna's research looks at the spatial connections between museums and schools located in so-called deprived areas of England and Wales, based upon the findings of three RCMG research projects.

For this research seminar, Anna focused in on the views of the Head Teachers at a number of her case study schools on the value of museum visiting, using a theoretical framework which made use of Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital (her explanation of which drew enthusiastic compliments from her audience for its clarity!).

After a brief, but comprehensive overview of social deprivation indicators (and the challenges which they present to the researcher), Anna introduced several very revealing quotes from head teachers of two primary and one secondary school in Birmingham. She asked each head teacher, 'what is the value of museum visiting?'. Several themes emerged: not only were museums seen as sites of learning that supported the national curriculum, they highlighted as important sites of cultural and linguistic enrichment, especially for pupils for whom English was not the primary language spoken at home. For the secondary school pupils, museums were perceived to support an overall school strategy of boosting life chances and broadening horizons for students growing up in an environment which is not only deprived socially and economically, but suffers from poverty of aspiration

Finally, Anna spoke briefly about her emerging view - as a result of her field work completed to date - that there is a paradoxical tension between what headteachers perceive museums do, and what museums think their role is.

Overall, Anna's seminar provided an entertaining and engaging introduction to an aspect of her research, which was augmented by a brief, but artful presentation of snaps of Boston she took on a recent conference trip partially funded by the Department!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Thinking of the museum as 'without walls' gives me the opportunity to talk a bit about a recent trip to Dundee I made, in fact could be applied to any visit any where. The past is collected, displayed, retained all around us and whilst it is perhaps not recognised that people 'collect' buildings as such, the decisions that are made as regards to keeping some, knocking down others can be identified as the same process whereas museums decide which objects to keep and which to throw away. Fortunately Dundee has retained much of its history.

Dundee by train is approached across the River Tay, remembered in poetry as the "silvery Tay" and also cropping up in the Associates' song 'Nude spoons', which is not completely irrelevent to museums being about finding objects and wondering at their meaning.

From the railway station, the city climbs upwards over the hills and presents an interesting skyline, admittedly it might appear better on a sunnier day.

An industrial city, Dundee was famous, and made its money, as a port and from the making of jute, a kind of material. As with most industrial cities, its fortunes have climbed and sunk over the years and at the moment Dundee is in the process of rejuvenation. Despite the proliferation of shopping centres and dock-side flats that look like they could belong anywhere, Dundee has some very attractive buildings. For fans of medieval towers, the church in the centre of town, incongruous against the modern shopping centre, has the highest medieval tower in Scotland.

Perhaps the most startling find was Howff burial ground in the city centre. Formerly land belonging to a monastery, it was given to the city in the sixteenth century by Mary Queen of Scots, and is now is tucked away behind buildings. Even more startling was the provision of an information board giving both the history of the site and interesting things to look out for amongst the graves. Such things can be rare in graveyards so it was good to see that the city takes diverse forms of heritage seriously.

I went to a talk yesterday as part of the University of Leicester's 50th birthday celebrations which was about grave memorials and what they can tell us about society. For the period before the mid-eighteenth century there was seen to be a preoccupation with the finality of death with little hope for salvation. Thus symbols of mortality abound on gravestones that survive, such as the skull, the hourglass and the sexton's tools (spades). The lecturer felt these to be rather grim reminders of death. However I see that many of the skulls can be quite jaunty, and the graveyard in Dundee was certainly full of grinning skulls. I did not find them grim at all, rather comic in fact. That probably says more about me though than the society at the time!

Other points of interest in Dundee include the docks which I only had time for a quick look round but are currently the resting place for two interesting ships. The first is the Unicorn, built in 1824 its the oldest British warship still floating. perhaps because it was never actually used in battle!

The second ship is at Discovery Point, the aptly-named Discovery, built in Dundee in 1901 to take the ill-fated Captain Robert Scott on his polar expeditions (thanks to the Rough Guide to Scotland for details on both the ships). Unfortunately I ran out of time to look around the attached heritage centre but it gives me an excuse to head back to Dundee one day. Not that I need an excuse because it is a very interesting city and well worth further exploration.

Friday, April 25, 2008

CALL FOR PAPERS:HERITAGE AND PRACTICES OF PUBLIC FORMATION: A Special Issue of the International Journal of Heritage Studies

The International Journal of Heritage Studies invites submissions for a special theme issue devoted to a critical consideration of the implications of heritage practices in regard to the re-articulation of existing publics and the formation of new ones.

Those who think heritage is only about the past have got it wrong. Practices of heritage are always about the future. Such practices are inherently implicated in enduring questions regarding the viable substance of social life, questions which include the problem of human connection across historically structured differences of time and place. Heritage practices present an arena of social participation. They not only offer meanings and affect that help consolidate exiting social solidarities, but they also offer the possibility of new connections among diverse people, connections essential for the continual renewal of democratic life and the attainment of environmental sustainability in an increasingly complex and interdependent world.This issue of IJHS will be devoted to discussions of heritage practice that move beyond the notion of a public as an identifiable pre-existing set of people who form the potential audience for any given heritage event and who are then reminded of their connections to each other through their collective attention. In these circumstances, previously constituted identities and/or interests are often invoked to explain the thoughts and feelings that tie people to each other, establishing their willingness to accept a given normative basis for shared values and institutions. Differently from this concern with how heritage practices are implicated in the reproduction of existing social relations, for this issue we are encouraging explorations that start with the idea that as plural formations, publics may be initiated and consolidated when strangers come to recognize new shared interests and affinities. Thus our focus is the way diverse sets of people engage with various forms of both tangible and intangible heritage forging relationships that were not pre-existing.

When heritage practices are implicated in this moment of the making (or re-making) of collectivities, something of what Hannah Arendt called “world-making” happens. In such moments, through engagements with representations of the past and each other, varied people may come to understand themselves in new ways as members of a public in formation. An important consequence of considering heritage practices on such terms is that it extends the manner in which such practices may be understood to be both political and pedagogical. More concretely stated, heritage practices within but not limited to museums, urban landscapes, internet web sites, tourist sites, monuments and memorials, as well as engagements with music, dance, drama, craft and art may all contribute to the formation of new publics and hence social and political re-formation of everyday life.

For this special issue IJHS we are calling for papers concerned with how heritage practices provoke the conditions that enable the existence of publics, and contribute to their plurality,historicity, stability/instability, and relationship with each other. Such papers would likely consider not only what it means to be with others in new public formations but as well, they may address the material and spatial conditions that enable and limit their coming into being. Further, consideration might also be given to the substantive relation of new public formations to existing State forms and global ideologies. IJHS calls on scholars to consider the potential of heritage practices for enriching public landscapes, engendering collective experience and insight, inciting debates and democratic practices, and creating new forms of human solidarity. Papers should aim to reevaluate and reposition ideas of the public, placing heritage within contemporary contexts and concerns.

Please submit paper proposals (abstracts of up to 300 words) by June 1, 2008 to the issue's editors Roger I. Simon (rsimon@oise.utoronto.ca ) and Susan Ashley (sashl@yorku.ca ). Completed manuscripts will be due September 30, 2008. Potential contributors will be interested to know that Routledge has expressed an interest in publishing the special issue in book form once it has been published by the IJHS.

THE EDITORS:Roger I. Simon is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies at the University of Toronto. He is the Faculty Director of the Centre for Media and Culture in Education and Director of the Testimony and Historical Memory Project at OISE/UT. Simon has written broadly on critical approaches to cultural pedagogy most recently focusing on the areas of public history and museum studies. His research and writing addresses questions of the pedagogical and ethical dimensions of practices of cultural memory. This work is part of Simon's on-going exploration of the intersections of social and political theory, cultural practice, and pedagogy in regard to the project of securing a public sphere enabling a just and compassionate society. His recent publications include articles in Museum and Society, Museum Management and Curatorship, and the Journal of Museum Education. His most recent book is The Touch of the Past: Remembrance, Learning and Ethics published by Palgrave MacMillan 2005. mailto:rsimon@oise.utoronto.ca

Susan Ashley is a SSHRC-CGS doctoral candidate in the Communication and Culture program at York University in Toronto. She has had 20 years of experience in the heritage field as a front-line interpreter, program and exhibit planner, and consultant, working with public heritage sites across Canada. She has published in IJHS, Museum & Society, the Canadian Journal of Communication, and various heritage professional journals.

Heritage Development are organising a Study Day for 24 museum professionals with four world-class architecture and design practices - in the environment of their own London studios. The first two firms to confirm are:

Terry Farrell & PartnersTerry Farrell and Partners (TFP) is a world-renowned practice of planners, urban designers, masterplanners and architects under the leadership of Sir Terry Farrell. Over a period of more than 40 years, the practice has worked on a series of museum projects in the UK and worldwide. Neil Bennett, Project Manager, and Russ Hamilton, Design Director, will speak to us about their work at Edinburgh's Dean Gallery, and give us a preview of the Great North Museum which will open next year in Newcastle, and the Royal Institution which will be reopened by the Queen at the end of May.www.terryfarrell.co.uk

Eva Jiricna ArchitectsDesigners of innovative galleries and spaces including the new foyer and shops for the V&A and the Royal Academy, the exhibitions Modernism and Africa, the Sir John Soane Museum and the Sculpture Galleries at the V&A, Eva Jiricna and her Project Architect Georgina Papathanasiou will preview their current projects opening to the public in late April and May this year. These are the new Jewelry Galleries at the V&A and the former Gilbert Collection at Somerset House, which is being transformed into a "Kunsthalle"for special exhibitions.www.ejal.com

The FormatEach session will last 1 1/2 hours and be informal in style, to maximise discussion and interaction. You'll hear in-depth about the work and the approach of each practice, discuss work-in-progess, view visuals of current and forthcoming projects, explore models of the latest projects, and meet and talk with a range of members of the design teams from each studio. With a maximum of 24 participants, you'll be able to pinpoint in advance any issues and topics you'd particularly like to have covered or discussed, so that the day's experience can be planned to meet your individual needs.

Who should attend? Professionals with any responsibility for the planning, management and implementation of exhibitions, interpretation and design; professionals involved in planning new or revised museums or galleries; professional designers and interpreters working within museums.

This will be a unique, intensive and highly rewarding day. Mini-bus transport between venues will be provided, as will lunch and refreshments.Cost: £247 inclusive

Museums are institutions steeped in tradition but surrounded by constant change."Transforming Museums" seeks ways that professionals can meet these changes deliberately and thoughtfully instead of being swept along their currents. "Transforming Museums" is the Museology Program's second annual interdisciplinary conference, and will feature presentations, panel discussions, and workshops from experienced leaders and new voices in the field. More information on sessions, presenters, and a detailed schedule is available on our website:

www.transformingmuseums.org.

Registration is open until May 16 and is free, thanks to the support of our sponsors. Conference proceedings, admission to half-day workshops, and reception tickets are also available for purchase when you register.Registration is limited for several sessions, so register now to secure your place at:

https://www.engr.washington.edu/epp/museum/registration1.php.

The conference will be held at Hotel Deca, located in the heart of the University District. Sessions and events will also be held at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Science Center and Experience Music Project Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.

Keynote Speakers:

Judy Rand, DirectorRand and Associates

Liz Ševčenko, DirectorInternational Coalition of Historic Site Museums of Conscience

Discounted rates at Hotel Deca are available to conference attendees. More information on conference accommodations is available at:

http://depts.washington.edu/museum/2008.php#registration.

"Transforming Museums" is generously supported by the University of Washington's Museology Graduate Program, the Simpson Center for the Humanities, Seattle Art Museum, Experience Music Project Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, Henry Art Gallery, and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

I have the great pleasure to announce that Issue 13 of Museological Review, (the journal edited by PhD students in the Department of Museum Studies) is now available online. The theme for this issue is Ideology, Power and the State.

Table of Contents

IntroductionRichard SandellHead of DepartmentMuseum Studies, University of Leicester

Theoretical Perspectives in New Labour’s Cultural Policy: Art Museums as Vehicles for Social InclusionVictoria Durrer

The Politics of Self Definition: the monitoring of Sikh identity and cultureSaima Kaur

The politics of ‘arts premiers’: Some thoughts on the Musée du Quai Branly.Marilena Alivizatou

Immigrants into Citizens: Ideology and Nation-Building in the Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigrationMary Stevens

An exciting development for 2008 is the link-up between Museological Review and The Attic. You are cordially invited to join us in our brand new discussion forum to discuss this issue's papers with authors and other readers.

This, and previous issues of Museological Review are now available to download as pdf files from the Department of Museum Studies website.

The project is supported within the framework of the Berlin Hauptstadtkulturfonds

Topic

Questions of immigration and integration have become key issues incontemporary European intellectual and political debates. In the wake ofEuropean societies’ ongoing social and economic incorporation of millions ofimmigrants and refugees, questions pertaining to the cultural representationof these processes are increasingly emerging. Debates about theinterconnectedness of immigration, history and memory, as well as oncommemorative practices in diverse societies are gaining momentum. As aconsequence, cultural institutions are challenged by rethinking and thepossibility of reconceptualizing their work. This is particularly true for(historical) museums and their narratives. Museums in Europe currently encounter a threefold challenge. First, they face a new social structure ofvisitors: more and more people of immigrant origin have become an importanttarget group as European societies diversify. Second, the predominant, andoften prevailing, national frameworks and the national historical narrativesused in historical exhibition have been questioned by immigration and thechallenge it poses to national master narratives. Third, the history of immigration itself becomes a rising field for historical reflection,research and commemoration, thus diversifying the landscape of historicalstudies, historical exhibitions and museums.

Scope and Goals of the Conference

The conference will bring together museum professionals, exhibition curators, researchers from the humanities and social sciences, (cultural)representatives from immigrant communities and artists. The format will transcend the traditional format of an (academic) conference. Next to acommon opening and a public concluding session, participants willintensively work in six different workshops. Each workshop comprises 10 to12 participants and will last for 1.5 days. The goal of the workshops is toinitiate a European process of reflection and discussion on migration inmuseums in order to generate new ideas, new concepts, new narratives and new perspectives. We do not expect lengthy papers from participants, but rather short and sharp contributions for intensive discussions enabling new interpretations, which will confront established patterns of thought and practice and will enrich our imagination in the field. The minutes of the workshops will be the basis for a publication to be launched in 2009.

Framework of the Conference

The conference will be the concluding event for a research and interview project with immigrant artists (film makers and writers) in ten European cities (Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Istanbul, London, Luxemburg, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, Warsaw). The interviews will focus on the reflections of these intellectuals on history and historical narratives, be it their own life histories as immigrants, be it their reflection upon the history of their countries of origin/destination, be it European history, be it immigration history. These interviews will result in a webpage and a documentary. Moreover, the film footage is planned to work as intellectual stimulus for the conference and workshops, and it will be shown in the participating six museums from October 23 to 25. The interviewed artists will be invited to Berlin as participants in the conference and workshops.

Application

Applications for participation are welcome through the deadline of May 30, 2008. Your application should include a mini essay/sketch of ideas (a max. of 600 words), a short biographical note (not more than two pages) and a list of (selected) publications, curated exhibitions or other relevant work in the field of immigration and/or museums. The essay should reflect upon and discuss the following question:

"How to represent and/or exhibit diversity in Europe?"

The text can be a classical mini-essay or a sketch of ideas for a cultural project in a museum or an exhibition. It can also touch upon wider questions and travel beyond the museum's walls. Versions of these essays (though not in an elaborated academic form) will serve as input statements for the workshops in order to trigger discussions.

Applications will be considered on a competitive basis. In addition to 40 invited speakers, 25 to 30 places are open to respondents to this Call for Participation. Limited financial support for the participants is available to subsidize travel and accommodation expenses. It can be granted upon request.

or contact us via E-mail (Migration.Museums@web.de). Applications should be sent to the given email address by May 30, 2008. The selection committee will choose and notify the participants by the end of June 2008.

The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts presents its sixth biennial conference for recent research in early American material culture and decorative arts on October 9 - 11, 2008The conference provides a major forum for scholarly presentation and interaction on American material culture and decorative arts.

In addition to a keynote address by Edward S. Cooke, Jr., Professor of American Decorative Arts and Material Culture at Yale University, the conference includes a day of field trips to regional material culture and decorative arts collections and the Gordon Seminar, a day of paper presentations on topics in American material culture. Session moderators will be Dr. Cooke, Dr. Katherine C. Grier, University of Delaware and Dr.David Lubin, Wake Forest University.

Scholars and graduate students in fields related to American and particularly southern material culture are invited to submit proposals for presentation at the Gordon Seminar. Subjects with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of material culture are highly encouraged.

Proposals will be accepted for individual papers or for panel sessions. Paper proposals must include the author's name, the paper title, a one-page abstract and the author's curriculum vitae. Session proposals must include a chair, list of presenters, cover letter, one-page summary of the session theme, presenter curriculum vitae, and abstracts for all papers.

Deadline for proposals: May 16Notification of acceptance: June 13Accepted papers submitted in full: September 1

In light of the efflorescence of scholarly interest in early modern collecting, this panel will examine the historical documents that provide us with some of the most salient information about collections' contents and organization. Inventories have long been used by scholars to assess the size and composition of collections, to track the provenance of objects and to better understand the tastes of a particular patron. We contend that the study of inventories can, in addition to opening new avenues of investigations into collecting practices, also incite practical and methodological questions pertinent to the study of Renaissance art, science and culture. The sorts of inventories we foresee examining include inventories of palaces, libraries, collections, studioli, Kunstkammern, ships, etc. Among the questions this panel seeks to ask are: How did inventories function? What can inventories tell us about the storage, display and movement of objects? How can we track the exchange of objects between collections through the study of inventories? How can we translate the language of inventories? We welcome case studies of individual inventories as well as papers that examine methodological concerns bearing on the study of various inventories.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

We're happy to announce the third in the Cultural Memory Seminar Series for the year 2007-08: "Rethinking museums, memorials and monuments"Saturday 10th May, 2008, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies, Room 274, Stewart House (adjacent to Senate House, University of London)The speakers:

Dr Mary Stevens (University College London), "Towards the hybrid museum? The aesthetics and politics of the memory of immigration in the Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration".

The Cultural Memory Seminar Series is co-hosted by the Institute of Germanicand Romance Studies (University of London) and the Raphael Samuel Centre(University of East London). It is organised by Rick Crownshaw (Goldsmiths,University of London), Carrie Hamilton (Roehampton University) and Susannah Radstone (University of East London).

Questions of immigration and integration have become key issues in contemporary European intellectual and political debates. In the wake of European societies’ ongoing social and economic incorporation of millions of immigrants and refugees, questions pertaining to the cultural representation of these processes are increasingly emerging. Debates about the interconnectedness of immigration, history and memory, as well as on commemorative practices in diverse societies are gaining momentum. As a consequence, cultural institutions are challenged by rethinking and the possibility of reconceptualizing their work. This is particularly true for (historical) museums and their narratives. Museums in Europe currently encounter a threefold challenge. First, they face a new social structure of visitors: more and more people of immigrant origin have become an important target group as European societies diversify. Second, the predominant, and often prevailing, national frameworks and the national historical narratives used in historical exhibition have been questioned by immigration and the challenge it poses to national master narratives. Third, the history of immigration itself becomes a rising field for historical reflection, research and commemoration, thus diversifying the landscape of historical studies, historical exhibitions and museums.

Scope and Goals of the Conference

The conference will bring together museum professionals, exhibition curators, researchers from the humanities and social sciences, (cultural) representatives from immigrant communities and artists. The format will transcend the traditional format of an (academic) conference. Next to a common opening and a public concluding session, participants will intensively work in six different workshops. Each workshop comprises 10 to 12 participants and will last for 1.5 days. The goal of the workshops is to initiate a European process of reflection and discussion on migration in museums in order to generate new ideas, new concepts, new narratives and new perspectives. We do not expect lengthy papers from participants, but rather short and sharp contributions for intensive discussions enabling new interpretations, which will confront established patterns of thought and practice and will enrich our imagination in the field. The minutes of the workshops will be the basis for a publication to be launched in 2009.

Framework of the Conference

The conference will be the concluding event for a research and interview project with immigrant artists (film makers and writers) in ten European cities (Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Istanbul, London, Luxemburg, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, Warsaw). The interviews will focus on the reflections of these intellectuals on history and historical narratives, be it their own life histories as immigrants, be it their reflection upon the history of their countries of origin/destination, be it European history, be it immigration history. These interviews will result in a webpage and a documentary. Moreover, the film footage is planned to work as intellectual stimulus for the conference and workshops, and it will be shown in the participating six museums from October 23 to 25. The interviewed artists will be invited to Berlin as participants in the conference and workshops.

Application

Applications for participation are welcome through the deadline of May 30, 2008. Your application should include a mini essay/sketch of ideas (a max. of 600 words), a short biographical note (not more than two pages) and a list of (selected) publications, curated exhibitions or other relevant work in the field of immigration and/or museums. The essay should reflect upon and discuss the following question:

"How to represent and/or exhibit diversity in Europe?"

The text can be a classical mini-essay or a sketch of ideas for a cultural project in a museum or an exhibition. It can also touch upon wider questions and travel beyond the museum's walls. Versions of these essays (though not in an elaborated academic form) will serve as input statements for the workshops in order to trigger discussions.

Applications will be considered on a competitive basis. In addition to 40 invited speakers, 25 to 30 places are open to respondents to this Call for Participation. Limited financial support for the participants is available to subsidize travel and accommodation expenses. It can be granted upon request.

The globalization of contemporary art and biennials has led to the circulation of works produced outside of Europe and North America within the Western cultural system. A related case is Latin American art, which despite its links to the Western tradition is often understood as "non Western." Artists and curators sometimes function as "native informants" legitimizing cravings for cultural diversity, that reinforce a Euro-American canon of modernity. We invite artists, curators, art historians or anthropologists to examine the ways in which art produced outside of Europe/North America is presented: Topics might include the curatorial premises and critical reception of exhibitions, the perspective of artists on the ways in which their work has been displayed and interpreted internationally, or the relation between "global" exhibitions and the art market.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Cultural Trends , the journal published by Routledge, is launching two new sections devoted to reviewing books and 'grey literature'.

The journal is now looking for submissions of reviews of books in any language on cultural trends and cultural policy in any geographical area and on any timescale that includes contemporary developments. The specific fields of interest are, for example:

-- material culture (archives, libraries, museums, galleries, archaeological sites, crafts, etc.)-- media, film, video, publishing, and other cultural and creative industries-- performing arts-- amateur arts and crafts-- festivals-- entertainment-- sports and Olympics -- the historic environment (designed environment, gardens, history parks, etc.)-- employment in the arts and the cultural sector-- education and training in the arts and the cultural sector-- any issues which impact on the arts and cultural sector as a whole (funding, sponsorship, the Internet, public participation and access to the arts).

Reviews can be in the form of 1,500 to 2,500-word reviews of single monographs published within the last eighteen months, or longer review articles (up to 10,000 words) that consider a number of books on a similar topic.

The Reviews Editor will contact publishers on behalf of reviewers in order to obtain review copies of relevant publications.

For further information, and to volunteer to review books in the above areas, please contact:

Cultural Trends has been providing in-depth analysis of cultural sector statistics since 1989. It focuses on key trends within the fields of material culture, media, performing arts and the historic environment, and it includes coverage of issues which impact on the sector as a whole, such as the internet, poverty and access to the arts, and funding.

Cultural Trends is based on the assumption that cultural policy should be based on empirical evidence and it champions the need for better statistical information on the cultural sector. It aims to:

-- stimulate analysis and understanding of the arts and wider cultural sector based on relevant and reliable statistical data;-- provide a critique of the empirical evidence upon which arts and wider cultural policy may be formed, implemented, evaluated and developed;-- examine the soundness of measures of the performance of government and public sector bodies in the arts and wider cultural sector; and-- encourage improvements in the coverage, timeliness and accessibility of statistical information on the arts and wider cultural sector.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Yesterday wasn't altogether fruitless. After trudging around the British Museum for several hours, I went and had a look at The Cartoon Museum: an independent, volunteer-run museum just a stones throw from the BM. Opened in 2006, it displays (and I quote)

the very finest examples of British cartoons, caricature, and comic art from the 18th century to the present day.

The exhibits are largely political and satirical. The museum is not, as I over heard one disappointed visitor, with one of those unfortunate, yet highly comical Monty Python-esque nasal voices declaim, about Bugs Bunny.

The gallery space is limited, but packed with displays and information. On the ground floor there is currently an exhibition of satirical cartoons by the Georgian artist Robert Dighton, who has the dubious claim to fame of admitting to stealing and selling on prints from the British Museum! The remainder of the ground floor is given over to mock-ups of Heath Robinson contraptions (great stuff!) and a chronological survey of political cartoons from British newspapers from the eighteenth century to the present day. There were very many engaging, amusing and thought-provoking original cartoons on display. The museum doesn't allow visitors to take photographs of individual exhibits, but do provide a good selection on their website. However, I did get the chance to take a photo of the colourful benches dotted about the museum, which encouraged plenty of bums on seats!

Well, it tickled me.

The top floor of the museum is devoted to British comic strips, like The Beano and The Dandy. What was particularly interesting about these, was the insight they provided into how the strips are type-set and arranged, with stuck-on captions, tippexed areas and instructions to printers pencilled in the margins. A workshop with a practising comic artist was in full swing in the adjacent education area, which resembled a creative child's dream, with paper, pens, crayons and paints strewn about the room. If only I was twenty years younger!

The museum is funded entirely from donations, ticket and shops sales. As such, it doesn't have the resources for flashy, or high-tech interpretation, yet what was there was done competently. Unsurprisingly the entrance (and exit) to the museum was devoted to commerce, albeit books, postcards and novelty souvenirs on a cartoon theme. But my attention was drawn to the grotesque, yet strangely compelling leather Chairman Mao in the window, created by Gerald Scarfe in 1971.

Overall, the Cartoon Museum is well worth a visit if you happen to be in the vicinity and have an hour or two to while away. And, as an added bonus, students get in free!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

I spent all of today in London taking photos of an exhibition I will be using as a case study for my thesis. I got home, uploaded the pics and discovered, much to my frustration, that they are, almost without exception, useless; out of focus and just too blurry to use as illustrative material (or even just as 'memory-joggers' - they're *that* bad!). I've never got on with this camera (an Olympus Camedia C-310 Zoom), and now it's i) getting on for three and half years old; and ii) patently useless for research, I'm thinking about purchasing a new one. Afterall, I guess that's what the AHRC had in mind for their cash when they awarded me my research grant, rather than the shameful reality of me frittering it all away at Primark and on buying vintage knitting patterns off eBay. *beseeches the AHRC for forgiveness*

While I do fancy myself as an amateur photographer (landscapes, monuments, trees (I'm obsessed with knobbly trunks at the mo'), my main priority has to be getting decent (and sharp) photos in museums and galleries. And, as I am a poor PhD student, value for money is another important consideration. To these ends, dear readers, I would (and I bet others would be too) very grateful to receive your recommendations for/experiences of using digital cameras. Over to you guys!

In 2008 Liverpool will celebrate its year as European Capital of Culture. The Capital of Culture Programme highlights the role of culture in the life of a city, encourages cities to innovate in the cultural field and promotes cultural cooperation and understanding.

This year to celebrate Liverpool as Capital of Culture, the ARLIS Conference goes to Liverpool University’s Greenbank Conference Park, opposite the all famous Penny Lane, set within an attractive private landscape close to Sefton Park and less then 15 minutes drive from the city centre.

Liverpool has a host of cultural attractions encompassing impressive internationally recognised architecture, including the Anglican and Metropolitan Cathedrals. It houses more museums and galleries than any other city outside London, including a fine display of modern and contemporary art at the Walker Art Gallery and Tate Liverpool. The city is also rich in maritime history and is home to the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

The ARLIS Conference will host a full programme of activities to reflect Liverpool’s Capital of Culture status in 2008 including:

* An optional city walk on Tuesday 22nd July, joining ARLIS colleagues and friends to explore the architecture of Liverpool’s Albert Dock area.* A host of challenging speakers who will consider the sustainability of our cultural heritage in a digital age; including Reyahn King, Director of Art Galleries, National Museums Liverpool; Jodie Walz, Director of Digital Collections and Archives, University of Minnesota; Douglas Dodds, Head of Central Services at the Victoria and Albert Museum; and Christopher Breward, Deputy Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum.* There will be the chance to debate issues of professional concern with colleagues in the breakout sessions, go behind the scenes of Liverpool’s richly stocked libraries and archives including visits to FACT, the Conservation Centre and the Walker Art Gallery. There will also be the opportunity to meet key publishers and suppliers to creative arts libraries and archives in our Library Supplier’s Exhibition.

International Delegate AwardUniversity of Liverpool, 23 - 25 July 2008

To apply for the award, please submit the following by post by Friday 2nd May 2008:

1. A completed application form (see: http://www.arlis.org.uk/ or from the address below) 2. A résumé listing educational background, employment history and professional activities.

The winner must confirm in writing that he/she is able to meet the requirement of conference attendance. The recipient will be expected to submit a post-conference report to the ARLIS/UK & Ireland Council. The decisions of the Council of ARLIS/UK & Ireland and its Grants Panel shall be final, and no correspondence regarding these shall be entered into. The Council of ARLIS/UK & Ireland reserves the right to make no award if no suitable application is received.

*NB The award does not include travel costs

Application papers should be returned to the Business Manager at the address below.

The Eras on-line postgraduate journal is currently seeking submissions of papers for publication for our forthcoming editions in 2008 and 2009.

Eras is a fully refereed on-line journal edited and produced by postgraduate studentsfrom the School of Historical Studies at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia which is intended as an international forum for current or recently completed Masters and PhD students to publish original research, comment and reviews in any field covered by the Monash SHS's teaching and research. We are seeking papers from postgraduate students working in any of the fields listed below, along with a brief description of your current affiliation and thesis topic.

Eras publishes papers from the following disciplines: History, Archaeology and Ancient History, Religion and Theology and Jewish Civilisation. Papers are also strongly encouraged from students in other disciplines, such as Cultural Studies, Indigenous Studies, Gender Studies, Philosophy, Sociology and Politics, providing such manuscripts are relevant to the journal's primary disciplines.

For our upcoming editions we would be particularly interested in submissions relating to state and local history, museums and material culture. Eras is a fully refereed journal and all papers will be subjected to the standard refereeing process. Papers should be up to 5,000 words in length and full submission guidelines are available on the journal website: www.arts.monash.edu.au/eras.

Please forward all submissions via email to: eras@arts.monash.edu.au by June 1, 2008 for the 2008 edition (submissions received after June 1 will be considered for the 2009 unless space allows inclusion in the earlier edition)

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Audience Development.New Concepts for the Relationship between Museums and the PublicSchlossmuseum Linz (AT)29 - 30 May 2008

So far the term ‘audience development’ hasn’t had a universally valid definition in German. It comes up when it is about visitor orientation as an obligatory and strategically important basic position of cultural institutions or about demand-oriented cultural administration. Circulating concepts for museums are also characterised by the fact that they entirely permeate institutions: thus, curators, mediators, and those responsible for PR and marketing are similarly urged to promote the increased openness of their institutions by their work, to win over the visitors in a better way, and to consistently take part in attracting new public audiences. Starting from a look at Great Britain, where audience development is a natural and integral part of museum practice, and a whole series of practical examples, we would like to discuss what kind of structural pre-conditions are required for key visitor orientation and how it can come to expression in the exhibition and event planning of museums, and in mediation, marketing and PR work.

The third workshop in the Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change series on major concepts in tourism research will be held on April 17th and 18th at Leeds Metropolitan University. This time, we will focus on (the) concept(s) of memory in tourism research.

The Netherlands Institute in Turkey and Istanbul Bilgi University will be organizing a two-day conference on museum education on April 11-12, 2008. In the light of changing practices in museum management, topics such as educational activities by museums, the museum's place in the social fabric of the city, potentials for participation of the interested public, new methods for targeting visitors, and not least the question how innovations in line with international trends in the field can be implemented with often rather limited budgets will be discussed in tandem by experts from museums in Turkey and the Netherlands.

Open Call for Contributions: The Politics of Cultural Programming in Public Spaces

A collection of academic essays, edited by Vicki Watts and Robert Gehl

Note: This collection of essays is based on 2007's Politics of Cultural Programming conference at George Mason University. Click here for information on that event.

In our digital media saturated lives, where we spend increasing amounts of time in “virtual worlds” such as Second Life or online on blogs and video sites, it can be easy to forget about public spaces. Unlike content in virtual worlds, cultural programs in public spaces are events that are lived and experienced bodily and sensuously. Museum exhibits, public music performances, sports, art festivals – these events are truly immediate, which is to say that they are lived bodily by those that participate in and produce them. The editors are seeking contributions of approximately 5,000 words to a new book, already under contract, which examines the peculiar spaces where audiences and exhibits/performers/objects meet, and asks how these meetings determine subjectivity.

Institutions that fall within the purview of the book include: museums, festivals, the performing arts, sporting events, multicultural and/or ethnically specific celebrations, gigs and club nights, and tourist spectacles. The book is tentatively arranged into 3 sections: "Building Culture in the City"; "Programming Art, Faith, and Politics in the Museum"; and "Embodying Culture in Events, Spectacles and Festivals".

Questions to be considered might include:

How do we understand labor in the context of cultural events?

What are the ideological stakes of cultural programming, and what is its political economy?

How do cultural institutions interpellate performative identities of race, class, gender and sexuality?

Starting with the founding of the South Kensington Museum in London, museums have played an important role in giving meaning to the idea of "design" and in bringing it to public attention. The goal of this panel is to explore the conventions that have guided how museums have exhibited design, in terms of both historical and contemporary practice. What aims have museums had in displaying design? Have they presented designed objects as works of art, as historical or ethnographic artifacts, as examples for practical emulation, or as desirable commodities? What kinds of distinctions among these objects have they drawn? How have the conventions of display highlighted - or obscured - important aspects of design? How have these conventions changed, in response to the development of new spheres of design and new technologies of display? Proposals from museum professionals as well as scholars in all relevant academic fields are welcome.

Proposals should be sent by May 9, 2008, to:Marianne LamonacaThe Wolfsonian-Florida International University1001 Washington Avenue,Miami Beach, FL 33139lamonaca@fiu.edu.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

This is a preliminary announcement for a symposium being held to coincide with the opening of the exhibition, Polynésie: arts et divinités 1760-1860, at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris (16 June – 14 September 2008).*

The symposium, which is jointly convened by the Sainsbury Research Unit at the University of East Anglia and the Département de la recherche et de l'enseignement at the Musée du Quai Branly, will take place on Tuesday-Wednesday 17-18 June 2008. The principal aim is to bring together curators, researchers, academics and artists from the Pacific, Europe and America who have an interest in Polynesian art and material culture in common, and who are concerned with its presentation, re-presentation and representation. The focus will be on museum and exhibition displays, permanent and temporary, which involve Polynesian material from all periods, including the present. Although past and present exhibition-making will be considered in historical and cultural contexts, there will be an emphasis on the future, as a way of generating and enhancing collaboration and mutual understanding.

Several senior scholars will contribute to the symposium, including Arapata Hakiwai, Adrienne Kaeppler, Noelle Kahanu and Pat Kirch, together with a number of representatives from Pacific museums and universities. The meeting is intended to be an active dialogue, with contributions from all symposium participants. If you wish to attend the symposium it will be necessary to register in advance, as places are limited. There will be no conference fee.

Further detailed information about the 2-day programme will be announced shortly. Meanwhile, please send expressions of interest to:

Lynne HumphreysSainsbury Research UnitUniversity of East AngliaNorwich NR4 7TJUnited Kingdom

Please circulate this announcement to anyone you think might be interested in attending.

Steven Hooper and Karen JacobsSainsbury Research Unit, UEA28 January 2008

*The exhibition, Polynésie: arts et divinités 1760-1860, is a re-staging of Pacific Encounters: art and divinity in Polynesia 1760-1860, which was shown at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, in 2006.

The admission to the lecture is free. Booking is essential. Please e-mail G.Kirk@leedsmet.ac.uk to confirm your attendance.

The opening lecture will be delivered by Gilda Williams on the subject "The Gothic". As a renowned curator and writer, Gilda Williams has been a consistently important voice within a host of journals and publications on contemporary art; as Commissioning Editor of Phaidon Books, Managing Editor of Flash Art, and currently as the London Correspondent for Artforum, whilst lecturing at Sotheby's Institute. Her recent book "The Gothic" published by Whitechapel Gallery and MIT Press in 2007 was part of the series "Documents of Contemporary Art' and presents her continuing research into the subject.

The Curating Contemporary Art Lecture Series is organised in association with the new M.A Programme in Curating Contemporary Art, to be led by Peter Lewis, at Leeds Metropolitan University, School of Contemporary Art and Graphic Design, and which is to commence in October 2008. The talks, organised with Leeds Art Gallery, will introduce a range of positions in curating.

This issue of Invisible Culture seeks to explore the limits and possibilities for post-colonial theoretical discourse as it relates to artistic and cultural practice. Art works, performances, films, videos, and other cultural production that engage with issues of global migration and the muddying of identity markers of race and class suggest the importance of doubt when considering history writing and fact-gathering. Performance artists The Yes Men fake their identities and take their practice outside of the gallery in an attempt to chip at the legitimacy of political structures such as the World Trade Organization. Visual artist Ken Lum offers a commentary on how one may understand visual markers of identity. Visual andperformance artist Walid Ra'ad's works under the name The Atlas Group suggest the anxiety-producing task of stitching together history from material evidence. La Pocha Nostra's Chica Iranian Project investigates the political dimensions of visual misrecognition in post 9/11 UnitedStates.

These practices suggest the possibility for identity to be context- and site-specific, and to mobilize identity markers to critically examine practices of authorship, history writing, and institutional practices. But is identity truly mutable? Can we be in a post-post-colonial era where identity is understood to be contextually informed, partial, and provisional? And if so, what does this look like? Kwame Anthony Appiah argues for the unfixed cosmopolitan in his 2004 monograph Cosmopolitanism, a utopic figure which some critics have suggested presents a re-framed flâneur, able to travel the globe freely with little consideration for the class and political restrictions that impede the movement of those less fortunate. Other writers andtheorists have asserted that this is not a post-colonial era; that we are still dealing with colonialization's legacy, whether we call this period post- or neo-colonial. Yet others suggest that post-colonial theory still maintains its position as a vital field of examination when considering visual presentations of identity, providing important tools to critically analyze place, class, race, and practice. What is the place for art and globalization in this context? What possibilities and limitations do various forms of theorization (post-colonial, neo-colonial, Cosmopolitanism, or post-post-colonialism) offer to a consideration of artistic practice concerned with identity and place? What role does the gallery and the site play in this presentation?

We are particularly interested in papers that take into account the multi-faceted experiences of post-colonial thought. Possible methodological frameworks include: interdisciplinary visual culture, gendered experience, inquiries considering notions of class, and/or other streams that may contribute to a rich and nuanced inquiry into the state of post-colonial theory and practice. How is identity represented, performed, interrogated? How do these examinations tie in with post-colonial theoretical discussions? What are the boundaries of post-colonial discussions when dealing with contemporary artistic practice?

Possible topics include:- Representations of identity in art, video, film, and/or performance which blur the boundaries between self and other;- The future of post-colonial discourse and practice: current methodological challenges and how to proceed from here;- Identity politics: dead or alive? Does cultural production involving a claim of identity or lack there of continue to have political and aesthetic valence?- Visible minority or visible stereotype? How does one represent an Othered group without calling up its stereotype? What are some alternate ways to address or perform racial identity? Or is race obsolete?- The New Cosmopolitan: challenges and possibilities in the cultural sphere suggested by Kwame Anthony Appiah and others proposing a cosmopolitan rather than regional approach to ethical race relations;- Whither whiteness studies? What role do studies of whiteness play into notions of post-colonialism, when racial identities are troubled? What are some methodological tools which whiteness studies offers in a field post- post-colonialism?- Post-colonialism or Neo-colonialism? Marxist theorists suggest that there has never been a move away from the colonial moment. What are the possibilities and challenges of both methodological premises, particularly in understanding cultural production?- The museum and the minority. How far have museums come to address issues of equality fought for in since the 1960s? Guillermo Gomez-Peña pointed out in a 1995 essay "From Art-Mageddon to Gringostroika: A Manifesto Against Censorship" (published in Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art Ed. Suzanne Lacy. Seattle, WA: Bay Press), that equality may only be truly measured by the number of minorities who hold administrative positions. How has this wish been realized? Does this wish still hold true? Or does hiring based on minority standing in any form repeat practices of stereotyping?

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

A series of Doctoral Inaugural Lectures celebrating and showcasing PhD graduates.

This evening will be introduced by Professor Kevin Lee (Graduate Dean). The lectures will be followed by a reception in the Piazza, Charles Wilson Building. Please email pgevents@le.ac.uk for further information or if you would like to attend the reception.

***STOP PRESS***

PhD Conferences

We have a new PhD conference upcoming this year November 5-6th 2013. It is called Museum Metamorphosis and is all about the adaptable and changing museums of today. We are sponsored by AHRC and in partnership with Leicester Museums. The official website and details can be found here.

Last year's PhD student conference was held March 27-28 2012, and was titled Museum Utopias; it was supported by the University of Leicester and Hanwell. It was an intreguing two days of utopic ideals and realities in museums today. Details are available on the official website. Read the blog for a session-by-session review of the conference.

The 2011 conference was held in Leicester March 28-30, and was called Curiouser & Curiouser; supported financially by the University of Leicester, it was an exciting three days of the weird and wonderful in heritage studies. Read the blog to find out more. We also held a highly successful PhD student symposium in December 2009. Read the blog.